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Swan is spot on, say US online readers

Treasurer Wayne Swan's "cranks and crazies" attack on the US Tea Party has a few Americans simmering online.

But many reckon his comments are "spot on" and hope their fellow US citizens will notice how the rest of the world views them.

In a speech on Friday, Australia's deputy prime minister said the Tea Party had taken over parts of the US Republican Party and was preventing Congress resolving its budget problem, the so-called "fiscal cliff".

When asked if calling the Tea Party "cranks and crazies" was inflammatory in a presidential election year, Mr Swan replied it would be "pretty inflammatory" to see a country default.

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It remains to be seen if his comments will reverberate as Prime Minister Julia Gillard lobbies world leaders in the US this week to try and win Australia a seat on the United Nations Security Council.

But online news readers in the US have noticed, with the first of more than 1300 comments on the Huffington Post website calling Mr Swan's comments "spot on".

Another reader said Swan was "just another know nothing Liberal".

On the politico.com website, one reader said they'd had "quite enough of the demeaning, factless insults from left-leaning know-it-alls".

Jen06 said: "Let's be blunt and acknowledge the biggest threat to the world's biggest economy are progressives, socialists, and communists that have taken over DC."

On the Huffington Post, a reader noted "it must be bad when even foreign countries feel sorry for us".

Others said there was an underlying irony to the situation.

"If you listen to Mitt Romney or other prominent Republicans, one of their more common criticisms is that President Obama doesn't command enough international respect. On balance, they have this backwards," a commenter said.

Another noted: "American Conservatism is seen as an extremist joke throughout the rest of the world. Even the UK Conservative Party prefers Obama".